EU Tightens Migration Legislation: Who Will Be Held in Closed Camps
From June 12, new asylum rules came into effect in the European Union. This is the most extensive reform aimed at reducing the number of asylum seekers, writes DW.
According to the new Common European Asylum System (CEAS), applicants will undergo preliminary checks at the EU's external borders, and for nationals of countries whose citizens are rarely granted asylum — an accelerated procedure at border centers. This means that cases of citizens from, for example, Pakistan, Iran, Russia, Turkey, Venezuela, Nigeria, or the Democratic Republic of Congo will now be directed to accelerated consideration directly at the border, while they themselves will be held in effectively closed camps during this time.
After asylum is denied, applicants must be deported to their countries of origin no later than 12 weeks. Additionally, Brussels intends to increase the number of countries recognized as safe, which will allow for rejecting a larger number of applications.
Migration expert is skeptical about CEAS
Migration expert and founder of the analytical center "European Stability Initiative" (ESI), Gerald Knaus, doubts the effectiveness of the chosen approach. "These so-called border procedures could already have been used in recent years, now they are mandatory. Ideally, within 12 weeks it will be established that a particular Bangladeshi in Italy or a Pakistani in Greece does not require protection. And then the question remains what will happen next," Knaus explains.
According to him, deporting migrants to their countries of origin remains a difficult task, and those who have been denied asylum will most likely try their luck in another EU country. Although the responsibility for this lies with Italy, Greece, and Spain — the countries of first entry. "Actually, they were already obliged to carry out the relevant procedures for those arriving. It just didn’t work. Why should it work now? We will see in a few days," the expert shares.
Most asylum seekers do not undergo accelerated procedures at the border
According to the European Commission, in 2025 the largest number of asylum seekers arrived in the EU from Afghanistan and Syria. The approval rate for citizens of these countries exceeds 20%. Thus, they are not subject to accelerated border procedures, and their applications are processed in the usual manner. However, the countries of first entry are still responsible for this.
Gerald Knaus expects that such people will continue to undergo the regular procedure: "And will likely continue moving further — to those EU countries that over the past ten years have made over half of all positive asylum decisions in the EU. These are Germany and Austria — countries not located on the EU's external border. So, in this regard, nothing has changed."
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt suggests that the entry into force of CEAS will facilitate the return of asylum seekers from Germany to the countries of first entry. The minister reported receiving corresponding assurances from the authorities of Italy, Greece, and other such countries.
To ease their situation, CEAS provides for "mandatory solidarity" from other EU member states, which will have to take on the processing of asylum applications. How this will work in practice is not yet clear. The European Commission is to coordinate the process. Poland and Hungary fundamentally refuse to participate. According to the Interior Ministry, Germany does not intend to accept asylum seekers this year, as it is claimed to already be overwhelmed.
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